A cat which went missing for more than a year has returned home after being discovered sleeping rough less the half a mile away.

Six-year-old Mania escaped from a house on Gilchrist Avenue in August last year after getting out through a kitchen window.

She had become confused because her owners Marta Sztynelska and Krzysztof Kaminski had moved from Macclesfield to Wythenshawe in Manchester, but brought her back to Macclesfield to be cared for while they were on holiday.

After two months of searching around the streets where they used to live, Marta and Krzysztof were forced to give up the hunt.

Mania has been returned to her owners after 62 weeks sleeping rough

But 62 weeks later Mania has been returned thanks Jennifer Bagnall, who lives on Newlands Road, spotted her cowering in her back garden and called the RSPCA.

Marta, 52, who rescued Mania when she was a kitten, said : “At first I thought it couldn’t be true, but as Mike the RSPCA volunteer described the cat he’d trapped over the telephone, I realised it must be Mania. It is simply the best Christmas present ever!”

It’s not been an easy life for Mania, who was rescued after being mistreated by her previous owners.

Krzysztof, 54, said: “Marta took Mania in when she as a kitten, she was very frightened and very scared of men - she had a hard time at the hands of her previous owners, so we were very worried about her being out there on her own.

“I couldn’t believe it when we got the call.

“We really appreciate what everyone’s done.”

RSPCA officer Mike North, who rescued Mania, said: “This sort of thing doesn’t happen very often, especially after such a long time and with an animal that has not been microchipped. Mania is one lucky cat and has probably only survived because of the compassion of people in the area leaving out food for her.”

Mania was sleeping rough under a hedge Jennifer Bagnall's back garden in Macclesfield

Jennifer, 29, who is mum to eight year old son Dominic and baby girl Lavinia and lives two roads away from where Mania went missing, called the RSPCA after failing to coax her out from under the hedge in her back garden.

She said: “I have just moved into the house and noticed the cat sleeping under the hedge in the back, it was so shy, so I left some food out and made a little shelter.